Griscelli syndrome type 2 (GS2) is a rare, life-threatening immunodysregulatory disorder characterised by impaired cytotoxic activity leading to susceptibility to haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) and hypopigmentation. We completed a literature review and analysis of clinical data of 149 patients with GS2 including 8 new patients.We identified three founder mutations which show diverse phenotypic profiles (RAB27A c.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe importance of calcium (Ca2+) as a second messenger in T cell signaling is exemplified by genetic deficiencies of STIM1 and ORAI1, which abolish store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) resulting in combined immunodeficiency (CID). We report five unrelated patients with de novo missense variants in ITPR3, encoding a subunit of the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP3R), which forms a Ca2+ channel in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane responsible for the release of ER Ca2+ required to trigger SOCE, and for Ca2+ transfer to other organelles. The patients presented with CID, abnormal T cell Ca2+ homeostasis, incompletely penetrant ectodermal dysplasia, and multisystem disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH) Phenopacket Schema was released in 2022 and approved by ISO as a standard for sharing clinical and genomic information about an individual, including phenotypic descriptions, numerical measurements, genetic information, diagnoses, and treatments. A phenopacket can be used as an input file for software that supports phenotype-driven genomic diagnostics and for algorithms that facilitate patient classification and stratification for identifying new diseases and treatments. There has been a great need for a collection of phenopackets to test software pipelines and algorithms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO) is a widely used resource that comprehensively organizes and defines the phenotypic features of human disease, enabling computational inference and supporting genomic and phenotypic analyses through semantic similarity and machine learning algorithms. The HPO has widespread applications in clinical diagnostics and translational research, including genomic diagnostics, gene-disease discovery, and cohort analytics. In recent years, groups around the world have developed translations of the HPO from English to other languages, and the HPO browser has been internationalized, allowing users to view HPO term labels and in many cases synonyms and definitions in ten languages in addition to English.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPulmonary infection is the leading cause of infectious morbidity and mortality in children with immune defects. We provide a comprehensive review of lung infections in immunocompromised children, with a focus on imaging findings and imaging-based management. We include an overview of the immune defences of the respiratory tract, the aetiologies of immune defects in children, the features of specific infections and important differential diagnoses and describe diagnostic strategies using imaging and non-imaging-based techniques.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Sphingosine phosphate lyase insufficiency syndrome (SPLIS) is associated with biallelic variants in , comprising a multisystemic disease characterized by steroid resistant nephrotic syndrome, primary adrenal insufficiency, neurological problems, skin abnormalities and immunodeficiency in described cases. Signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) plays an important role in orchestrating an appropriate immune response through JAK-STAT pathway. Biallelic loss of function (LOF) variants lead to STAT1 deficiency with a severe phenotype of immunodeficiency with increased frequency of infections and poor outcome if untreated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: There is a lack of data on post-HSCT non-osteopenic bone pathology specifically for children with inborn errors of immunity (IEI). We collected data on non-osteopenic bone pathology in children with IEI post-HSCT over two decades in a large tertiary pediatric immunology center.
Methods: Descriptive study with data analysis of bone pathology in allo-HSCT for IEI was performed between 1/1/2000 to 31/12/2018 including patients alive at follow-up to July 2022.
Background: Accurate, detailed, and standardized phenotypic descriptions are essential to support diagnostic interpretation of genetic variants and to discover new diseases. The Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO), extensively used in rare disease research, provides a rich collection of vocabulary with standardized phenotypic descriptions in a hierarchical structure. However, to date, the use of HPO has not yet been widely implemented in the field of inborn errors of immunity (IEIs), mainly due to a lack of comprehensive IEI-related terms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDown syndrome fits an immunophenotype of combined immunodeficiency with immunodysregulation, manifesting with increased susceptibility to infections, autoimmunity, autoinflammatory diseases, and hematologic malignancies. Qualitative and quantitative alterations in innate and adaptive immunity are found in most individuals with Down syndrome. However, there is substantial heterogeneity and no correlation between immunophenotype and clinical presentation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPediatr Allergy Immunol
February 2020
Children with Down syndrome have changes in their innate and adaptive immunity, which contribute to increased rates of infections, autoimmune diseases, and haematological malignancies. While improved care for congenital heart disease has decreased mortality and morbidity, complications related to immune-mediated diseases continue to limit the life expectancy in Down syndrome. Infectious diseases are common and have a significant effect on development, behaviour and quality of life.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe determined the response of 48 Down syndrome children to 2 doses of influenza A/H1N1 vaccination. Ninety-two percent of the children reached the previously defined protective level (hemagglutination-inhibition titer ≥1:40), but only 27% of the children reached the level of ≥1:110 which was recently described to predict the conventional 50% clinical protection rate in children. Further studies, and potentially adaptations of the schedule, are needed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe immune system declines with aging, leading to an increased susceptibility to infections and higher incidence and progression of autoimmune phenomena and neoplasia. Down syndrome prematurely shows clinical manifestations that are normally seen with aging. This review provides a concise overview of abnormalities in the adaptive immune system of Down syndrome in comparison to normal and precocious (Progeria syndromes) aging.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDown syndrome children show a decreased avidity of the antibody response after tetanus toxoid booster vaccination at 9 years of age suggesting impaired memory B cell selection in the germinal center. Clinicians need to be aware of this ongoing subtle immunologic deficit in Down syndrome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBecause of their increased malignancies, autoimmune diseases, and infections, patients with Down syndrome (DS) show features of immunodeficiency. The DS thymus and T lymphocyte subsets have indeed proven to be different, and this has been interpreted as precocious aging. Our study on T lymphocyte subpopulations in DS shows that the normal expansion of naive helper (CD4CD45RA) and cytotoxic (CD8CD45RACD27) T lymphocytes is lacking in the first years of life; this is more logically explainable with an intrinsic T lymphocyte defect.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDown syndrome (DS) is known for increased incidence of respiratory infections and autoimmune diseases, indicating impaired immunity. Until now, attention has been mainly focused on T lymphocytes. Therefore, we determined B-lymphocyte subpopulations in 95 children with DS compared with 33 age-matched control (AMC) children.
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